For information only - not an official document
UNIS/CP/882
5 November 2015
As prepared for delivery
ST. PETERSBURG/VIENNA, 5 November 2015 (UN Information Service) - Allow me to begin by commending the efforts of the Global Organization of Parliamentarians against Corruption as it continues to engage with members of parliaments around the world to step up the fight against corruption.
The Yogyakarta Declaration agreed at the recent sixth Global Conference of GOPAC shows how parliamentarians can also seek to lead and advance anti-corruption action.
This declaration not only draws on the UN Convention against Corruption and its Review Mechanism, but it goes a step further by advocating for the use of legal action to pursue perpetrators of grand corruption, which is one of the topics for your discussion today.
UNODC, as guardian of the UN Convention against Corruption, remains committed to working with all our partners in the fight against corruption.
This is of particular importance in light of Agenda 2030 and its Goal Sixteen, which calls for reducing corruption and bribery, among other targets, to promote justice and accountable institutions; and Goal Seventeen, which calls for enhancing partnerships for sustainable development.
How the Conference of the States Parties and the Implementation Review Mechanism can contribute to efforts to implement Agenda 2030 is a major theme of our forum here in St. Petersburg.
The particular challenges faced by Small Island Developing States in the fight against corruption is also the focus of a resolution under discussion by delegates.
I hope that your discussion today will also provide some concrete examples of how we can work together, drawing on our comparative advantages, to promote partnerships for anti-corruption action.
This includes the UN Pacific Regional Anti-Corruption Project, which is jointly implemented by UNODC and UNDP.
We help Pacific Island countries fight corruption by supporting:
1) Ratification of the Convention, which now has 11 States parties in the Pacific;
2) Effective implementation of the UNCAC through policies, laws, measures and institutional frameworks. Here Parliamentarians obviously play an essential role; and
3) Engagement in the UNCAC processes, such as the Implementation Review Mechanism.
In this regard, I wish to commend the Pacific for being the first region to have completed all of its reviews for the first cycle.
The UN Pacific Regional Anti-Corruption Project has worked with a number of organizations and technical assistance actors across the region, but a key partner has been GOPAC.
Together with GOPAC, the Project has successfully worked with parliamentarians to foster a shared appreciation of corruption risks and impacts, as well as to establish means for seeking joint solutions, including through the creation of GOPAC Chapters and the Standing Committee on Anti-Corruption.
I look forward to hearing more about this work from the Cook Islands and the Kingdom of Tonga during the first panel.
Another example, which will be discussed today is the Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative, a partnership between UNODC and the World Bank Group that supports international efforts to end safe havens for corrupt funds.
These partnerships can provide a solid foundation for collective action to end corruption and promote accountability, transparency and sustainable development.
Our meeting today is a good opportunity to discuss how we can foster these efforts, and for UNODC to learn how we can further support you in this fight.
Thank you, and I wish you a fruitful discussion.
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Conference website of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC):
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/treaties/CAC/CAC-COSP-session6.html
Conference website of the Host Country: http://www.uncorruption.ru/en/
For further information for the media go to:
http://www.unis.unvienna.org/unis/en/events/2015/cosp6_2015.html
For further information contact:
Martin
Nesirky
Spokesperson for the 6
th Session of the Conference of the States Parties
to the UN Convention against Corruption
Mobile: +7 921 437 8894 or +43 699 1459 5676
Email: martin.nesirky[at]unvienna.org
or
David
Dadge
Spokesperson, UNODC
Mobile: +43 699 1459 5629
Email: david.dadge[at]unvienna.org
Follow @UNODC and @UN_Vienna on Twitter and join the conversation using #NoToCorruption.
